20 Fantasy Hockey Thoughts: Huge opportunity for Samsonov with Maple Leafs

Drafting Logan Thompson came with a lot of risk.

Although Thompson was in a great spot heading into the season, he’d played just 20 career games and banking on a goalie with a small sample size is a risky endeavour. Thompson, though, has rewarded fantasy GMs for their belief in him with a shutout, two wins and 54 saves on 57 shots so far this season.

Add in the fact that the Vegas Golden Knights look like a much more inspired team than the one we saw last year, and Thompson appears to be building a case for the best goalie steal in fantasy for 2022-23.

Bruce Cassidy’s arrival has no doubt helped Thompson’s cause. Cassidy’s Boston Bruins teams ranked in the top five in goals against in every full season he was behind the bench there, thanks to his strong defensive structure. Thompson is now benefiting from that and so are those that had faith in him during draft season.

1. Interesting to see the Boston Bruins give the first start to Linus Ullmark. Most people probably took Jeremy Swayman higher in drafts, as Swayman is currently 89% rostered in Yahoo leagues, while Ullmark sits at 57%. The starts in net are probably going to be closer to 50/50 between the two unless someone really runs away with the job, so don’t hesitate to grab Ullmark if you need goalie help. The gap between the two isn’t that big.

2. Sticking with the Bruins, David Krejci picked up a goal and two assists in his first game back in the NHL. His style of play is the type that ages very well and Boston’s top six still looks very potent, even without Brad Marchand. It wouldn’t shock me if Krejci has another 60-point season in him. He’s just 24% rostered.

3. Tough news for Patrik Laine, as he’s set to miss 3-4 weeks already with an injury. I’m not sure there’s a good internal candidate on the Columbus Blue Jackets you can pick up to replace him, as Justin Danforth got the first crack at things on the top line. That experiment may not last long. There are probably better options from other teams on your waiver wire.

4. One option to consider is Martin Necas. The Carolina Hurricanes forward is off to a hot start with two goals and two assists and is just 27% rostered. He was one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy last year, but with Laine sidelined, Necas is probably a risk worth taking.

5. Great news if you’re rostering Andrei Kuzmenko. He held onto his power play spot on the top unit despite the return of Brock Boeser to the lineup. As long as Kuzmenko is in that role and in the Vancouver Canucks top six, he’s worth holding.

6. Sean Durzi was benched Thursday after a bad giveaway resulted in Vegas’ game-winning goal on opening night. Many are counting on Durzi as somewhat of a sleeper and power play specialist this year, so hopefully this was just a one-game message and not a regular occurrence.

7. Not an ideal situation for Matthew Tkachuk’s line deployment right now. He’s starting out with Sam Bennett and Rudolfs Balcers, and not playing much with Aleksander Barkov. Even though he’s off to a good start, how productive can Tkachuk be long-term in that scenario? I mentioned this summer I thought last season was the perfect storm for Tkachuk and he wouldn’t get close to 100 points again, but if he stays on this line all year, I think 80 might even be a stretch.

8. More from Florida, as Spencer Knight got the start Saturday. This year the timeshare in goal with Sergei Bobrovsky should be much closer to a 50/50 split. Of all the 1Bs this season, I think Knight will end up having the most value.

9. Four points for Matty Beniers already to give him 13 in his first 13 NHL games. Beniers has a great chance to win the Calder and is available in more than half of leagues. If you’re thinking of adding him, it’s a good idea to do it sooner rather than later. The Seattle Kraken play four times next week, including contests on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, where there are only a few games on the schedule. Having more players skating on nights without a lot of games can be a big advantage in head-to-head leagues.

10. There aren’t many players you’d want to roster from the Arizona Coyotes, but Shayne Gostisbehere is one. Even on a bad team, he’s great for points, power-play points, and blocks. As long as your league doesn’t have plus/minus, Gostibehere is a great depth add to your roster.

11. A number of teams play four games next week, including the San Jose Sharks. If you’re looking for a short-term add, Luke Kunin has caught my eye. He’s playing on the top line with Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl, with his ice time, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play, way up from his career average. Kunin is always great for hits, but if this continues and he keeps putting up points and shots, he’ll have value in multi-cat leagues.

12. I’ll admit I was a bit wary about using a high draft pick on Steven Stamkos after he posted a career year at age 32, but so far, he looks just fine. Four goals and 16 shots in three games with no signs of slowing down. Does Stamkos have another 50-goal season in him if he can stay healthy?

13. It’s still early, though it’s looking less and less likely Juraj Slafkovsky is going to make a real fantasy impact in 2022-23. He’s averaging less than 11 minutes of ice a night and has no points with just a single shot. If you took a chance on him, don’t get frustrated. Gambling on young players like this is a low-risk and high-reward strategy. Even if he doesn’t pan out this season, trying your luck with high-end prospects is still a good draft philosophy.

14. Matt Murray suffered an injury at practice Saturday and he’s going to be out long term, so it goes without saying to grab Ilya Samsonov if he’s available. I ranked Samsonov higher than Murray this summer for just this reason. It’s an unfortunate situation for Murray, but a predictable one. He’s really struggled to stay healthy in recent years and now Samsonov is in a great spot for the time being to build off his two victories, behind a really strong Toronto Maple Leafs team.

15. Jonathan Quick started the first two games of the season for the Los Angeles Kings, which is a bit concerning if you’re rostering Cal Petersen. It’s early, but if that’s the plan for the rotation between the pipes in Los Angeles, playing once a week isn’t going to give Petersen much value as a buy-low option.

16. No goals yet for Alex Ovechkin this season after three games, but there’s no need to panic. He’s still totaled 13 shots and with that volume, the goals will come. Ovechkin seems pretty motivated to chase down Wayne Gretzky’s goal record and he isn’t showing any signs of regression just yet.

17. If you want to panic about something, or at least show some slight concern, how about Marc-Andre Fleury allowing 11 goals on 49 shots so far this season. This is reminiscent to Fleury’s start a year ago, though that was with the lowly Chicago Blackhawks and not the Minnesota Wild, who have high expectations this season. Still, I wouldn’t move on from Fleury right now. Minnesota is much better than it’s shown so far and there’s no one to challenge Fleury for starts. It’s unlikely there’s a better option currently available on your waiver wire.

18. Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith made a curious move right before the season began, flipping centres Josh Norris and Tim Stutzle on the top two lines. Stutzle had been skating with Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux all pre-season, but ended up starting the season with Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson. Things haven’t been working out so far, as the Sens have managed just three total goals in a pair of losses. If I’m rostering Stutzle, I’d much rather see him playing with Giroux and DeBrincat, as I think that gives him the best chance to produce offense.

19. Those hoping that Lane Lambert would be a much different coach for the New York Islanders than Barry Trotz must be excited so far. The Isles picked up their first win Saturday, posting a whopping seven goals. New York didn’t score seven goals in a game once last season and even though they don’t figure to hit that total with regularity, it’s at least a glimmer of hope that players like Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom will be in a better position to produce offense.

20. There was some concern that Mason Marchment’s 71-point pace a season ago was a product of playing for the high-scoring Panthers. Marchment, though, is proving skeptics wrong with three goals in his first two games. Outside of the Dallas Stars’ top line, points were hard to come by last year, but Marchment is squeezing what he can out of the second unit with Tyler Seguin. Marchment was one of the toughest players to predict during draft season and right now things are working out swimmingly.